I have been thinking about this idea for some time now and I am curious to know what people think. Would anyone be interested in a professional quality funded Q1SP map by me? (Example - Zendar / Ivory)

Is there enough people interested? I assume a lot of people played my previous maps but did not comment so here's the chance, forum lurkers, what do you think?

I was thinking over a 6 week time frame with different donations getting different perks, like the chance to include your own idea of a secret in the map, access to the dev map files, vote on theme or map name?

... if it were some months ago about easy and id difficulty being the same, but after seeing a friend running out of ammo and axing things in normal e1m1 even though he took all the ammo that map has, made me lose all my arguments.

* dB_Audio, the previous list was perfect. Except maybe you could add a fifth skilll level for Tronyn skill 4 in Arwop ;)

I don't deserve that compliment, but thanks anyway.

Why Not?

#141 posted by Aquashark [217.156.83.74] on 2014/04/01 14:31:32

..but it would be more interesting with a more ambitious project, like a full episode

Shit

#142 posted by mmm [128.71.87.71] on 2014/04/03 01:16:12

... I missed the party. Yes, I'd pay for a sock map - or any other high-quality map (in fact I said so as a comment earlier on one of his maps), just not 10$. I'd say it's something like 2-3$ for a single map, 5$ for a 3-map mini-episode and 10$ for a full episode. These are realistic prices in a modern daily-75%-off Steam world. I'd also pay money for a good Doom episode, these two games itch my shooter scratch pretty well.

in all seriousness, how much would you net from this? It's a bit of a niche community, how many paying customers would you get out of it?
If you get a 100 people paying 5 bucks for a map that might be nice as extra income, but not for a full time investment. Then again I don't know just how fast Sock can churn them out. I think we've been a bit spoiled by things like Bundles and Steam sales also. 2 bucks a game only works when you have a huge platform to leverage.

(throws 2 cents at dead horse)

#144 posted by Harmata [78.111.187.3] on 2014/04/12 15:32:47

This is hell
This is fate
But now this is your home and it's great
So rejoice
Pop a cork
Honey, everyone's coming to modern video game industry!

Hmmm if somebody made an entire episode? Yea I could consider 10 dollars for sure. 15 if it gets some more custom QC support like new monsters and weapon or features that go beyond the usual vanilla stuff. But I don't expect to make a living from that since in game dev you need large numbers. I think you could cover your coffee costs though hehe.
If there was a constant flow of epic quake 1 and 2 episodes on a monthly bases... oh lovely thought

After re-reading the thread I think I have definitely changed my perspective a little bit. Sock did state he'd release for free after the project is finished, the model would be similar to a patreon model? You pay into the project and that's to support the artist?

I do think I'd pay for an ITS game actually, a fleshed out game would be worthy of my money and time thinking about it.

Ok

#148 posted by Ijazz [202.61.120.26] on 2016/09/16 17:11:07

If you could make a game scarier than kleshik(and bloodier) then i will pay $60.
Or &#8377;800(rupees)

Regardless of how good or bad the maps are: When the mapping part begins to make money, the makers of the tools you're using for that can run into motivation problems if they don't get a share. That is even after reviewing the licenses of those for whether such a commercial use* is allowed in the first place - the next version might not be for free anymore. Or the next version might not be released anymore because the billing troubles are a nuisance. The tools are there and ready for use, but they were not easy to make either.

*And it _is_ a commercial use. Worst, even the game studios might not want to see a commercial ecosystem based on their stuff.

And It Goes Even Further

#151 posted by Shrinker [31.19.129.185] on 2016/09/18 09:05:51

The same set of issues arise when you look at the libraries the tools use to do their work - Not all are necessarily free and open source and maintained by really charitable people. And free or cheap webhosting among friends often comes with rules or expectations regarding being noncommercial.

When you cross borders, issues can get worse - In Germany, for instance, lawful crowdfunding and micropayments put such a burden on the beneficiary regarding taxes, receipts and documentation that it's usually not worth the effort at all, so doing it wrong in terms of taxes (and social insurance and health insurance, at great personal risk) or shunning commercial uses altogether are often seen as more viable options.

Sorry For The Third, But I Forgot Something And There's No Edit Func

#152 posted by Shrinker [31.19.129.185] on 2016/09/18 09:15:15

In Germany, going commercial also means adding an "impressum" to your website and revealing your identity.
And it makes you eligible for being sued for patent and trademark infringement, even if you invented it all on your own and had no idea and only generate a tiny sum of money with it. These implications are a little worse for programs than for maps. Suddenly you can need legal counsel that puts your whole finances at stake.

All these issues are veiled very easily if you just look at the simple need for earning a reward for your time and crowdsourcing platforms offer great tools to do that easily... while covering their own asses on the legal side very well.

OK, hope that was my last post part now.
And again, this is no statement about the quality of your work.

At least check out website, there is a lot of creative people. The most important thing is to get founders, and be loyal to them. In patreon you can list out many other things that might come to you mind, not just singleplayer maps, but also list out other things - so people will understand the bigger vision you have in mind.